Words & Photos Vivienne Crow

December 03 2009

A winter walk on the far western fells south of Ennerdale is normally a soggy affair, so when a decent snowfall meant I’d get to hear crunching beneath my boots rather than the usual ‘squidge’, I jumped at the chance.

The nearest working weathercam – at Cockermouth School – showed the white stuff down to very low levels. Sadly though, when we got to Kinniside Common, the snowline was at about 1,300ft, so it wasn’t all going to be plain sailing.

We followed the faint track alongside the River Calder and then up Whoap’s western ridge. This isn’t the most inspiring of landscapes – some people, no doubt, would describe it as a bleak and lonely spot – but I love the solitude and moody atmosphere of these grassy, rolling fells. And, with snow ahead, beckoning us, the day held more promise than normal.

The sloppy, lower-level sludge – I’m sure the Eskimos have a better word for it – quickly gave way to deeper, more stable snow. Crossing the broad saddle between Whoap and Lank Rigg was pure, childish fun. This was snowballs and sledging country; you won’t see many ice axes on these easy-angled slopes. And, just once in a while, isn’t it great to indulge yourself and go back to a time before you knew about verglas or windslab or unstable cornices?

The first thing I saw on reaching the trig pillar was the Isle of Man, looking like it was just a skimming stone’s throw away across the Irish Sea. Turning round, Steeple, Pillar, High Stile and Grasmoor were among the white-crowned fells contained in the wonderful vista.

Okay! So, fun over! As we dropped down the southern side of the fell, the snow vanished and we faced a boggy trudge back to the car. It was about this time that my Achilles tendon decided it no longer liked the boots that I’d spent the last few months breaking in. So I limped my way across the water-logged ground to the Calder, relying on my walking poles to take the strain as much as possible. Snowball fights were a distant memory as we then picked our way upstream – sometimes in the soggy, grey valley bottom; sometimes through the ankle-turning tussocks along the top of the gully – and then forded the channel, by now swollen by snowmelt.

With darkness descending and the pain in my heel so bad that I was actually walking barefoot for short stretches to relieve it, I was beginning to wonder how I’d ever imagined Kinniside Common would make a good winter destination. It was only when we got back to the car and I looked at the pictures I’d taken from Lank Rigg’s summit that I remembered.

Distance: 7 miles/11km Ascent: 1720ft/524m Time: 4-5 hours Start and finish: Meeting point of Kinniside Common bridleway and Cold Fell road (GR: NY 066129) Map: Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Explorer sheet OL4 (The English Lakes – North Western area) Information: Whitehaven, 01946 852939

Technical Spec
Follow bridleway SE. Keep R at early fork. Follow track E – across Comb Beck. After next beck, winding route heads on to Whoap’s W ridge. Just after solitary boulder to L of path near summit, bear R at fork. Join path coming in from L and cross saddle between Whoap and Lank Rigg. Clear path heads uphill (SW) to trig pillar. Follow faint path SW, passing to L of cairn on rocky outcrop. As path disappears, descend SSW towards Boat How. Just before ground starts rising again – on its way up to Boat How – turn R along faint track. Head W for 1.5 miles. Turn R, following River Calder upstream for almost 1.5 miles. Ford it close to where Comb Beck enters river and then turn L along bridleway to start.